Page 28 of Pride High 3: Yellow

“Yeah.”

“Cool,” Omar replied when his friend didn’t expound. “How’s he doing?”

“Diego?” Ricky shrugged. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“I’ve tried. He wants nothing to do with me.”

“Then keep trying until he realizes that you really care.”

Omar shifted uncomfortably. “He knows.”

“I don’t think he does.”

Omar busied himself with unpacking his things. Words weren’t enough to heal wounds that deep. Although, as he pulled his trusty camcorder out of his backpack, he was reminded of his preferred way of expressing himself. When the bell rang, he turned his attention to the front of the class. As the lecture began, he leaned over and whispered, “I’m glad you’re friends with him. Or whatever. For real.”

Ricky smiled in response, looking very much like someone who was in love.

Later in the day, Omar was wearing the same dopey grin during the business finances elective he shared with Silvia. She sat an aisle over and closer to the front, but even the back of her head was enough to give him a boner. Not in a creepy way, like he wanted to jump her right then and there. He just loved Silvia so damn much. And yeah, okay, shewasstunningly hot. Omar was startled when the bell rang. He remained seated while packing his things and tried to get himself under control. As the room cleared out, Silvia walked over to join him.

“How’d you do?” she asked, nodding at his desk. He was supposed to write a pitch for a new business. The open pages of his composition book were still white and virginal. “Omar!” Silvia said in shock when noticing.

“I write better in my head,” he said lamely. “I’ll scribble it down later.” Or he would get distracted by all the things he wanted to film. Why couldn’t he skip to college and focus on what he really wanted to do? Ah well… The renewed anxiety about his grades had at least made his boner deflate. Omar grabbed the rest of his things and stood.

“Do you work today?” Silvia asked.

“Yeah, in about an hour. I have some stuff I need to film for the yearbook first.” He grinned at her. “Wanna walk me to my locker?”

“Don’t I always?” Silvia replied, seeming amused.

He had to be the happiest guy in the school as they strolled down the hall together. Everyone else was fleeing the building now that sixth period was over. Not him. With his girl at his side, he wasn’t in a rush at all. Silvia didn’t seem to be in a hurry either.

“I gotta go to the gym,” he said after retrieving the skateboard and camcorder from his locker. “I’ll walk you outside though.”

“You don’t have to,” Silvia replied.

“Yeah, but I want to.”

That seemed to make her happy. Which was great, because for a while there, his feelings had seemed a little one-sided. She had broken up with him briefly, which had sucked. They were on the right track now though. She even wrapped her arm around his. Omar felt a million miles tall as they left the building together.

“Hey, check it out,” he said, nodding across the parking lot. Diego was standing next to his Trans Am. Ricky was with him, reminding Omar of his advice this morning. Maybe he simply had to keep trying. “Wanna go talk to them?”

“No!” Silvia said with surprising intensity. She flashed a panicked smile. “I don’t want to be late.”

“It’ll only take a second,” Omar said, thinking her presence might reduce the likelihood that Diego would punch him. He raised a hand to get their attention, but Silvia pulled it back down before he could call out.

“No thanks,” she said, releasing him. “I really need to go.”

“Okay.”

Omar smooched her and said goodbye. When he turned around again, Diego and Ricky were already in the car and driving away. He still thought it was weird that she didn’t even want to say hello. They had helped rescue her father from the hospital, for crying out loud. That was worth a quick wave at the very least.

“You’re a mysterious woman,” Omar said under his breath. “And I freaking love it!”

He grinned to himself before going back inside the school. When he reached the gymnasium, the cheerleaders had already dragged out padded mats and were running routines. Instead of sleeveless shirts and skimpy skirts, they were dressed casually in T-shirts and shorts, although plenty of leg was on display. He tried to keep Mr. Finnegan’s instructions in mind as he began filming and paid more attention to what they were doing. The cheerleaders tossed each other into the air, did handsprings across the floor, and created different geometric shapes by piling up. He watched them fail over and over, only to keep trying until they got it right. Omar was almost disappointed when they stopped to take a break.

He was checking his footage when two girls detached themselves from the squad and bounded over to him. Their skin was a warm ivory hue and they shared the same lean build. One of them had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, the other had a short bob. As they neared, their dark eyes glittered at him in curiosity.

“Were you filming?” asked the girl with the shorter hair.